MISSOULA - The Out of the Darkness Community Walk in Missoula raised thousands of dollars for suicide prevention efforts.
Many families, organizations and individuals who gathered in the Missoula Paddleheads ballpark on Saturday all had one thing in common — they had all been impacted in some way by suicide.
The goal of this walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the people who helped coordinate this walk was to show that those who have been affected by suicide are not alone.
“To have people come together who have experienced suicide and just to be together for a little bit to build an understanding and compassion it’s really helpful to be around other people who have experienced loss because the death of a loved one to suicide is a lot different than most deaths," explained Ann Douglas with the All Nations Health Center.
This walk has grown over the years but there are some people who have been participating for years and have raised a lot of money for suicide prevention.
This is the case for Shannon Martell and her family who raised $14,000 at other events in honor of her late son Austin who passed away ten years ago. She says her family chose to use their experience to help others.
“So when it affected us — and happened to us — we decided that trying to get involved and figure out how we can make sure that no other parent would ever have to go through what we went through so getting involved with the suicide walk being on the chair or me being on the board of AFSP so that’s how we are involved also.”
If you or a loved one are struggling with mental health you can call the suicide hotline at 988 or visit https://afsp.org/.
